Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA)

According to federal law, college students have the right to the privacy of all their educational records including grades, financial information, and disciplinary records. The Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), with which Columbus Technical College fully complies, protects the privacy of educational records, establishes the rights of students to inspect and review their educational records, and provides the guidelines for the correction of inaccurate or misleading data through formal and informal hearings. When a student turns 18 years old, or enters a postsecondary institution (college/university) at any age, the rights under FERPA transfer from the parents to the student ("eligible student"). However, in a situation where a student is enrolled in both a high school and a postsecondary institution, the two schools may exchange information on that student. If the student is under 18, the parents still retain the rights under FERPA at the high school and may inspect and review records sent by the postsecondary institution to the high school. Students have the right to file complaints with the FERPA Office concerning alleged failures by the College to comply with the Act. Anyone with questions concerning the FERPA should contact the Registrar’s Office.